BOY Boykin Lodging

Boykin Lodging Announces Sale of French Lick Hotel for $25 Million CLEVELAND, April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boykin Lodging Company (NYSE:BOY), a hotel real estate investment trust, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the French Lick Springs Resort and Spa in French Lick, Indiana, to an unrelated third party for a price of $25.0 million. The sale includes the hotel and the Company's landholdings in Orange County, Indiana. The Company expects the sale to close on April 13, 2005 and intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes. The sale of the property is a continuation of the Company's plan to divest non-core assets. The property, a historic hotel located in a remote area of southern Indiana, had experienced negative cash flow in recent years. The Company's efforts to bring gaming to Orange County, the county in which the property is located, has improved the property's prospects. The Company determined it was time to realize the benefit of these efforts by selling the property for a price it considered attractive. Continued ownership of the property would have required the Company to invest significant amounts of management time and additional capital dollars in the asset, which is not consistent with the Company's strategy of focusing on the major metropolitan areas and beachfront markets. Robert W. Boykin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This sale enables us to focus on our core business of owning full-service hotels in major metropolitan areas and beachfront resort locations. We feel our efforts in bringing gaming to Orange County have been rewarded. For the residents of French Lick, we believe we are placing the hotel in good hands, as we are confident that the new owners are committed to preserving the historic significance of the hotel." Boykin Lodging Company is a real estate investment trust that focuses on the ownership of full-service, upscale commercial and resort hotels. The Company currently owns interests in 23 hotels containing a total of 6,712 rooms located in 15 states, and operating under such internationally known brands as Doubletree, Marriott, Hilton, Radisson, Embassy Suites, and Courtyard by Marriott among others. For more information about Boykin Lodging Company, visit the Company's website at http://www.boykinlodging.com/ . This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regarding the Company, including those statements regarding the Company's future performance or anticipated financial results, among others. Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in those statements. Among other things, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements include financial performance, real estate conditions, execution of hotel acquisition or disposition programs, changes in local or national economic conditions, and other similar variables and other matters disclosed in the Company's filings with the SEC, which can be found on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/ . Tara Szerpicki Investor Relations Boykin Lodging Company (216) 430-1333 DATASOURCE: Boykin Lodging Company CONTACT: Tara Szerpicki, Investor Relations of Boykin Lodging Company, +1-216-430-1333, or Web site: http://www.boykinlodging.com/

Copyright